Both Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are hugely popular in the tea party movement and the libertarian wing of the GOP. Today the Wall Street Journal challenges both of them over their position on granting “speedy trails” to U.S. citizens detained in the war on terror:

Both the Bush and Obama Administrations have rejected such a policy on sound security and constitutional grounds. The war powers of a President are vast and different from the powers of a district attorney for very good reasons. He needs the flexibility to capture and interrogate combatants to stop current or future threats, not merely to punish past criminal behavior.

If the Senators have evidence that the terrorist detainee process has been abused to the detriment of American citizens, perhaps they could provide some examples. On the available evidence, the safeguards in place have protected both U.S. liberties and the public from terror attack.